Man charged in South Baltimore killing continued to commit armed robberies until his arrest, police say

Baltimore police say they have identified and charged the killer of Timothy Moriconi, the 25-year-old gunned down outside his home last week in Riverside, near Federal Hill. (Ulysses Muñoz / Baltimore Sun video)

Baltimore police say they have identified and charged the killer of Timothy Moriconi, the 25-year-old gunned down outside his home last week in Riverside, near Federal Hill. (Ulysses Muñoz / Baltimore Sun video)

After Deandre Sleet allegedly shot and killed a 25-year-old South Baltimore man in an attempted robbery near Federal Hill, he was not done, according to police — continuing a spate of armed robberies in the city.

Police said Sleet, 23, committed two armed robberies two days before he allegedly gunned down Timothy Moriconi on Sept. 27 in the 1200 block of Riverside Ave. in South Baltimore. And four days after the shooting, police said, Sleet committed another armed robbery in Northeast Baltimore.

Sleet was arrested last week and now faces 30 charges, including first- and second-degree murder, robbery and multiple handgun violations. He is being held without bail.

Charging documents outline Sleet’s alleged spree. The victim in the latest armed robbery told police that just before 11 p.m. Oct. 1 he was stopped in his car in the 3100 block of Cedarhurst Road with the windows down when two men came up from behind to the driver-side window. One of the men who had a handgun told the victim, “give me your s---,” according to the document.

The armed man tapped the barrel of the gun on the victim’s head as he spoke, while the other man walked to the passenger-side window and acted as the lookout, the document said.

The victim told the men his wallet was in the trunk, and he pulled the latch, allowing the second man to search it, but didn’t find anything. The armed man then patted down the victim, taking his wallet and silver necklace, before both fled on foot, the document said.

Deandre Devon Sleet, 23, attempted to rob Moriconi as he was walking home on Riverside Avenue before fatally shooting him, police...

The victim then followed the men, tracking them to a nearby car with temporary tags with a woman in the driver seat, the document said. The victim called 911 and followed the car on Moravia Road at Walther Avenue. At one point during the chase, police said the assailant in the passenger side fired a shot at the victim. The 911 operator convinced the victim to pull over and wait for police, the document said.

Police recovered forensic evidence from the victim’s vehicle, which led them to an address in the 2000 block of Penrose Ave. in West Baltimore, the document said. The documents did not specify what evidence had been recovered.

Detectives went to the home early the morning of Oct. 3 where they found the suspects’ car — a silver Chevy Sonic with temporary tags. They then arrested Sleet and Kiara Treasure Wesley nearby at Sleet’s home on Payson Street.

The charging documents did not identify the second male suspect.

Police said video footage recovered during the investigation show Sleet and Wesley in the car, the document said. The getaway car, police said, has been used “in multiple other recent robberies.”

Since Sleet’s arrest, police have charged him in two other robberies — one in the 1500 block of Stack St., also in the Riverside neighborhood, and another in the 300 block of S. Broadway in Fells Point in the early hours of Sept. 25 — two days before Moriconi was killed. Police connected Sleet to those cases using surveillance video, which showed the same Chevy with a temporary tag involved.

Police said Wesley admitted to detectives that she had participated in robberies with Sleet. A gun was also recovered, which police said has not been reported stolen. But Sleet is prohibited from owning a handgun because of prior convictions, the document said.

Sleet was convicted in October 2017 in Anne Arundel County of misdemeanor drug distribution charges, online court records show. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, with six and a half years suspended — time that he still could serve if he re-offends.

Before that, in 2013, Sleet pleaded guilty to armed robbery and received a sentence of five years with all but two years suspended, according to online court records.